The present invention relates to wireless communication. In particular, the invention relates to providing a backhaul facility for wireless communication.
With the ever-increasing reliance on mobile, wireless, communications, wireless service providers face the constant challenge of providing reliable service. Because packet data can not be compressed further than it is currently compressed, packet data service providers must be able to offer service at ever-greater bandwidths. One particularly challenging area for service providers is securing bandwidth for backhaul.
In providing such communications, service providers often rely on T1 lines to carry backhaul for high speed wireless packet data communications, according to a protocol such a EV-DO Revision A, for instance. T1 offers relatively low backhaul delay, on the order of 1 ms for each 125 miles of signal propagation. T1, however, suffers from limited scalability. As additional traffic is carried in a wireless telecommunication network, T1 lines can quickly become overburdened. This is particularly the case in a network that provides packet data services. As more subscribers use their mobile devices to access data services, the backhaul carried in a wireless network increases sharply.
EV-DO (referring to “Evolution-Data Only” or “Evolution-Data Optimized”) is one protocol for providing wireless packet data services to mobile devices, with available download rates ranging from up to 2.5 Mb/s with (Rev. 0) to 3.1 Mb/s (Rev. A). EV-DO is described in the specification “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface” EV-DO may be employed in wireless network together telephonic voice communications.
With the increasing availability to wirelessly access high-data-rate packet data services, and with the increasing number of wireless subscribers, it is desirable to implement a backhaul facility that offers cost-effective scalability while maintaining minimal backhaul delay.